Improved plait-peotectoe



`iwsnlrr M. BARTLETT, or sronns TOWNSHIP, O'Hio:

Lena-S, raam: No. 74,879, ma amargas, 186s.

rnrnovnn PLANT-PROTECTOR.

@In rigarlr maar tt it tipa @am praatten mating gaat nf tte time.

TO WHOM nIT .MAY CONCERN:

Beit known that I, Ronnafr M. BARTLETT, of Storrs township, Hamilton county, Ohio, have invented new and useful Plant-Protector. t

My invention relates .toV a cheap, simple, and eiTective device for protecting young and tender plants, such I as beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, fito., from the injurious eiiects either of frost or heat; and the protector alsoserves to screen the plant from rain, hail, and other inclemencies `of the Weather. In the accompanying drawings- Y 'Figure 1V is a perspective view of my plant-protector, the hood being represented in its elevated positi'onfor the purpose ofiallowing the sunshine and .airto have free access to the plant; and Figure 2vis an axial Vsection of the protector,. when the hood is lowered to the ground so as to completely vcover theplant.

In its'preierred form my protector consists, mainly, of a conical hood, Ar, and supporting-pole B,jandl these members-may be of any suitable dimensions according to the size and for-n1 of plant which-is `.to be cultivated. The hoodA may be constructed of pasteboard, thin wood, or any other suitable materiahand it should be coated with varnish, paint, or coalftar, to preserve it from the dampnessof the ground and the changes of the weather. This hood, A,may be provided with one or more openings or bulls-eyesff a aa, for the admission of light and warmth to the interior of the hood. The bulls-eyes are covered preferably with oiled paper, C CC, but if' desired, muslinor ground or frosted glass may be substituted for the oiled paper. The paper is preferred onvaccont of its cheapness, and its capacityl of transmitting the rays of light in a mild, dih'usive form, and also because it canbe readily replaced when injured, besides `which it can be made to conform to the shape of the beni-whether the same be conical, cylindrical, hemispherical, or otherwise. The upper portion of the hood is furnishedV with one or more ventilators,fD, which can be opened by simply turning the cap E in either direction, and this ca p'is provided with apertures, e cie, corresponding in numbers, size, and position with the ventilators D,when`the cap is rotated soV as to bring theseztvroA sets of openings to one another, as seen' i in ig.,2. Thehood is adapted 'to be raised clear of the plant, or to be lowered and retained at: any point iof elevation by means of thesnspendingcord F and counterbalance G, one end of the cord vbeing attached to the hood and the other to the said counterbalance. The cord F is confined within a kerf or notch, b, cut in the upper end of th'pole B, and by slipping said cord through this, the counter-weight will maintain the hood Vat any position. This counterbal'ance is not -necessary for. the perfectworking ofthe protector,` it ,may liedisA pensed with, and the cord may be wound around the pole, 'butthe counter-weight will be found tc be the most rapid means of securing the hood at any height above the plant. The hood, for night protection merely, need not have the blls-eyes, and would. answer very well for temporary protection from cold, tc'., during thefdayt The .cord maybe attached to the hood'at one point, as shown in the drawings, or the lower end of the cord may be forked and united to the hood at two diametrically opposite points, and when thus suspended thehood will hang perfectly' level and not inclined, l'as represented. The inclined position ,is preferable 'when the plants are located at one-side of the pole, but when they surround it, the hood should hang level, or, in other words, it should project alike on all sides ofthe pole, so as to shelter the plant equally.V

By the use of this invention, corn, beans, melons, tomatoes, 85e., may be planted with safety from three 'to five weeks earlier 4than out-door planting .would admit of. f

When the plant or seed is iirst put inthe ground, the hood must be lowered to the earth, as shown in Iig. 2, andcareshould be taken that it ,tits close to the ground. A little line dirt, saw-dust, tan-bark, or chad', put around the bottom of the` hood, tomere'eifectually exclude thecold atmosphere, would be beneficial. In this condition the hood should renin-in so long' as the plants within are not crowded for room, after whichit should be raised gradually from time totime, as the plants grow; this will hardenithexmfand prepare them (when the proper time comes) for the-removal of the hood. In order that the plants receive suiiicient amountof'mo'isture, Std-,the hood should be removed from time to time during' the warm rains, &c. Y i

In extreme h ot weatherthe hood will be very useful in protecting plants, especially transplanted ones, from the extreme heat of the sun. g The sunshine, passing through the bul1's-eyes, keeps `the grodnd warm, and the ventilators being closed, so-us to retain the'heat and moisture, whatever is withinwill commence growing at' once, and as the young plant grows, the hood may be lifted gradually, and be nally removed to allow -the plant .to mature and ripen.

It will be' perceived that these hoods, when done with'forthe season, are capable of being nested one within another, so' :asV to occpy very little stowageroom. I have rendered thesehoods hoth rigid and impervious' by dipping them into melted Vseztlng-Wzix.

I clailnheiein as new, and of my inyention- 1.' A plant-protector, consisting of thefollowing devices, to Wit: A hood, A, of any suitable shape, when used in connection'w'ith thev pole B and suspending-cord F, thefwhole being arranged and operating substantially as herein desci'ibed and for the purpose set forth. 2. In combination with the elements'A a a' ai', C C C, B, and F, I also claim the ventilator D and cap E e ey e, as andfor the purpose explained.

3. The conicalhood A, having one or more lighted openings or #bulle-eyes, C, and adapted for suspension to a. stick or pole, in the manner substantially as set forthfv In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

ROBERT M. BARTLETT;

Witnesses:

GEO. H.- Kimm, JAMES H. LAYMAN. 

